Festival Guide: Tips on How to Enjoy the Masskara + Best Bacolod Hotel to Book

The Masskara Festival has finally kicked off!

Every October, Bacolod City celebrates this colorful festival featuring vibrant masks that symbolize joy, resilience, and unity among Bacolodnons and Negrenses. The highlights of the celebration include a parade full of colorful masks and costumes, street dancing, and an electric float competition. Of course, there are also many live concerts, sports events, food festivals, trade fairs, and shows in various venues throughout the city.

If you have been following our blog, you’ll know that Val and I are not originally from Bacolod. We moved here in 2015 from Metro Manila. In fact, it was during the Masskara Festival that we first visited Bacolod and immediately fell in love with the city. 

Now, we call it our home! 

Anyway, we’re sharing five tips on how you can enjoy the Masskara Festival this 2024.

1. Schedule Your Visit - The Masskara Festival is celebrated for almost a month, so planning your visit is key. The festivities kicked off last Friday, October 11, but the festival highlights will be on October 25-27, 2024. It’s best to schedule your trip during this time.

If you want a genuine festival experience, we suggest taking the time to watch the electric float parade, join in the street dancing, and engage with the performers. After all, the spirit of the festival is all about participation.

[Click here to view the Official Schedule of the Masskara Festival.]

2. Taste the Local Food - We fell in love with Bacolod because of the food. Aside from the usual chicken inasal and piaya, local delicacies such as cansi and napoleones are a must-try. Fresh seafood like shrimp, scallops, talaba, and blue marlin (locally called manumbok) is both affordable and delicious. There are many "paluto" restaurants in the city that are much cheaper than your regular dampa in Macapagal.

3. Enjoy the Coffee - If you love coffee, then you are in for a treat, as Bacolod has a vibrant and passionate coffee community. There are many homegrown coffee shops such as Coffee Culture, Mangkas Coffee Roasters, Origami (which won the first Citadines Coffee Championship Competition), Raechels Coffee Roasters, KapiPat Cafe, and Roastique that you might want to add to your itinerary.

Citadines Bacolod is also a great stop for coffee lovers to try their famous KapeSaba, an original concoction featuring the richness of local Negrense coffee, saba banana, cream cheese, and whipped cream. It comes with a piece of caramelized sugar inspired by our favorite Banana Q and Turon. It’s a revelation and a must-try! 

KapeSaba

4. Learn the History, Local Arts, and Culture - Understanding the background of the festival enhances the experience, especially if you also learn about the local arts and culture of the place you’re visiting. For me, there’s no better place to learn about the past and present stories of Negrense culture, history, and artistic practices than the Negros Museum. 

If you’re into street and contemporary art, make sure to visit the Art District in Mandalagan. The 6x3 meter art installation called BUGLAS at Citadines Bacolod is also a must-see. 

BUGLAS by NVC Foundation

You can also check out Bacolod WallStory, the longest mural in this City which was just completed yesterday (October 13) in celebration of this year's Masskara Festival. This is a 150-meter wall that forms the perimeter of the historic Hernaez Mansion along Mabini, Rizal, and Galo streets.

5. Prepare for Your Trip - When preparing for your trip, make sure to pack comfortable clothes and shoes. Expect to walk a lot and be outdoors. Bright and colorful attire is encouraged.

Be strategic when booking your land arrangements. For hotel bookings, location is key—not just the closest to the festivities, but one that is most accessible. Most main streets will be closed for the food festivals and concerts, so we prefer one that cars or taxis can still access. We don’t like being dropped off far from the hotel because cars are not allowed to enter anymore. 

Do we have any recommendations?

We recently had a staycation at Citadines Bacolod, and this is the hotel we recommend to our family and friends. It is just 20 minutes away from Bacolod Silay International Airport (around Php 350 if you take Grab) and near tourist spots like The Ruins - 3.6km away. 

This is also the newest and biggest hotel in Bacolod City, so expect it to be clean and have nice amenities and excellent customer service. Personally, I love Citadines for their flexibility and the availability of options for their hotel guests. Read more about it here. 

In terms of food options, the hotel's five different food and beverage restaurants including Tam-is which is a 24/7 Grab and Go counter. Most of the rooms are also equipped with a kitchenette that includes a full-size refrigerator, an induction cooker, a microwave, a water kettle, plates, and utensils. You also have the option to cook your favorite meals without restrictions. There’s even a can opener and corkscrew for your convenience. It’s just like bringing your home kitchen with you. I’m impressed with their attention to detail.

Fuego Bar & Lounge

If you just want a regular hotel room without the kitchenette, then their studio room is perfect for you. 

Anyway, watch our full review of their Studio Premier Suite and a walkthrough of the hotel's facilities here.

Nice, right? If you decide to stay at Citadines, allow us to share more tips (perhaps secret hacks!) to maximize your experience:

• They offer complimentary drinks/juices at the fitness center. Feel free to grab and go.

• Take the next floor higher when photographing the BUGLAS art installation for a better view.
• Their apartments have full-sized refrigerators, so you can bring ice cream. (This has been my concern with other hotels that only have personal refrigerators.) We also brought microwaveable popcorn for late-night movie-watching.
• Food from NAMIT can be served at the poolside. Just ask one of the waiters to set it up for you.
• If you can’t find plain rice during breakfast, it’s available upon request.
• Yoga mats are available at the fitness center. These are clean and sanitized each and every use. 

• Other toiletries, such as shavers and cotton buds, are also available upon request.
• If you are bringing a car, they have ample parking spaces available free of charge. 
• The hotel has several function rooms and meetings. You can check with the reception if they have public events and activities that you can join just like what they had during the International Coffee Week celebration. 
• Lastly, it’s best to book directly. We compared all the other hotel booking websites, and yes, it’s cheaper to book directly with Citadines. Not to mention, they also offer a price guarantee. This means that in the unlikely event that you find a lower rate through another booking website within 24 hours of your confirmed booking, Citadines will honor the lower rate and reward you with 10X ASR Points. Just go to this link: https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/philippines/citadines-bacolod-city.

Citadines Bacolod City is located at Lacson St. Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City.

Phone: (034) 488 7160 or +639955388442 (Mobile, WhatsApp & Viber)

Email: frontoffice.cbc@the-ascott.com